Protest at the Iowa Air Guard base in Des Moines.
Four protesters blocking a road near the Des Moines airport were arrested today. They were protesting of the Iowa Air National Guard’s drone program.
Each of the protesters who was arrested have been charged with interference with official acts and disorderly conduct. Those are misdemeanors. Alex Cohen was at the protest, but was not arrested. He says the activity is part of an ongoing campaign against the drone program.
“Basically these drones are killing innocent woman and children overseas and furthering waging wars on these other countries,” Cohen says.
A statement from an Iowa National Guard spokesman says most of the drone missions are to acquire intelligence and imagery on enemy combatants. One percent of the flight missions involve artillery.
(Reporting by Iowa Public Radio’s Sarah Boden/Photo courtesy of Frank Cordaro)